Reluctant private landlord numbers down

The number of reluctant private landlords operating in the UK during the third quarter of the year was down on the previous two three-month periods, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (Arla) has suggested.

Some 60 per cent of Arla members' offices reported that property was being rented out instead of sold during the three months to September.

This figure stood at 95 per cent in the opening quarter of the year and 80 per cent in the following three months.

With the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors recently indicating that demand for buy-to-let property is on the rise, the prospects for the sector look to be improving from earlier in 2009.

Ian Potter, operations manager at Arla, remarked: "The fact that the number of reluctant landlords has dropped once again and supported by the rise in demand for buy-to-let suggests that movement is beginning to occur across the market."